Ontario is so deeply in debt that any rise in interest rates could vaporize plans for a balanced budget in 2017-18, a new Fraser Institute report says.

“A return of interest rates to more normal levels would increase the proportion of revenues spent on interest payments, colourfully known as the ‘interest bite,’ jeopardizing the promises of governments to achieve balanced budgets,” the report says. “Some governments are more vulnerable than others, particularly highly-indebted provinces such as Ontario and Quebec.”

The government of Ontario has accumulated close to $300 billion in net debt.

Estimating the Impact of Higher Interest Rates on the Cost of Servicing Debt, to be released Wednesday, looks at two different scenarios for servicing that debt and the possible impact on the Kathleen Wynne government’s promise to balance the books by 2017-18.

Kelsey Ingram, a spokesman for Finance Minister Charles Sousa, said in an e-mail Tuesday that private-sector economists are forecasting the province’s growth will outpace the nation.

“While we continually monitor the Bank of Canada’s interest rate decisions — be it a decrease, increase or hold — our government’s number one priority is to grow the economy and create jobs for Ontarians,” Ingram said. “And that fiscal plan is working.